The Ockham Awards 2024: recognising the best in skepticism, and the worst in pseudoscience

Every year, The Skeptic magazine asks the skeptical community of the UK and beyond to submit nominations for their annual Ockham Awards - a chance to heap praise on someone in the area of skepticism who deserves celebration, and also to identify the worst promoter of pseudoscience, for their Rusty Razor prize. The winners are traditionally announces as part of the Saturday night entertainment at QED, and this year is no exception.

Nominations for the 2024 Ockham Awards are now open! Simply complete the nomination form to submit your nominations.

When making your nomination, you should consider what how many people they may have reached and what impact has been had over the last twelve months - for good or bad. And be sure to leave a short note explaining why you think your nomination deserves the prize.

Past winners of the Skeptical Activism award have included the BBC’s disinformation unit, Dr Elizabeth Bik, Dr Natália Pasternak, Professor Edzard Ernst, and the European Skeptics Podcast, while the Rusty Razor hall of shame includes the Global Warming Policy Foundation, Dr Mike Yeadon, Dr Didier Raoult, Andrew Wakefield, and Gwyneth Paltrow.

One of the most important elements of the awards is that the nominations come from the skeptical community, so be sure to tell your friends and fellow attendees, so that the net can be cast as far and wide as possible.

Nominations are open now, and will close on October 2nd. Winners will be chosen by the editorial board of The Skeptic, and they will be announced live on stage as part of our Saturday evening entertainment - entry to which comes as standard with all QED tickets.

Pick up your ticket today, and join The Skeptic to find out who has excelled in skepticism over the past year, and who is the rightful recipient of this year’s Rusty Razor.